Football game with mobile players



April 23, 1968 G E TH R ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Filed April 25, 1966 3 She ts-Sheet 1 2 38 as T T Z Fl FIGJO. INVENT R 32 /36 Franklin G.Feo ther 8u I5 v Stewart B.M|l|he|m April 23, 1968 G FEATHER ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fild April 25, 1966 'INVENTORS G.Feaih i Miii Franklin Siewcn' er& heim ATTORNEYS April 23, 1968 F. G. FEATHER ET AL 3,379,441

FOOTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Filed April 25, 1966 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS Frankiin G. Feo'iher Siewaa'i B. Mifliheim United States Patent 3,379,441 FOGTBALL GAME WITH MOBILE PLAYERS Franklin G. Feather, 331 Park Heights Blvd, and Stewart B. Millheim, RD. 2, both of Hanover, Pa. 17331 Filed Apr. 25, 1966, Ser. No. 544,790 8 Claims. ((31. 27394) The present invention relates to football players and game and has for an object to provide a game which may employ as few as two players or as many as twenty-two players all of which are under the control of adults or children and which may be played either on a game board or floor.

A further object of the present invention is to provide wheel mounted players which may be propelled either by inertia, spring motor, battery electric motor or manually directed into contact with one another.

A still further object of the present invention is the provision of wheel mounted players which may be remotely controlled.

The basic unit of the game comprises two players, one of which is a ball carrier and the other of which is a tackler, the runner being in substantially an erect position and the taclzler being in a crouched position with arms extended prior to contact with the ball carrier which arms close about the ball carrier upon the head of the tackler contacting the ball carrier when there is relative motion between the two players. The tackler may actually knock the ball player over.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of two football players constructed in accordance with the present invention running toward each other but not yet in body contact with each other.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view similar to FIGURE 1 when body contact has been effected and the arms of the tackler have closed about the ball carrier.

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the tackler of the present invention shown in solid and dash line positious.

FIGURE 4 is a front elevational view of the tackler of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is a top plan view of the tackler player of FIGURES 3 and 4 with arms shown in extended solid and closed chain line positions.

FIGURE 6 is a vertical section taken on the lines 66 in FIGURE FIGURE 7 is a fragmentary transverse section with parts broken away and parts shown in section of one form of the spring loading for arm actuation of the tackler.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a top plan view with parts broken away and parts shown in section of a player mobile carrier of the spring wind up type.

FIGURE 10 is a view similar to FIGURE 9 of a battery powered motor driven carrier.

FIGURE II is a modified form of player mobile carrier provided with remote control for imparting directions to the player carried thereon.

FIGURE 12 is a view similar to FIGURES 9 and 10 and is a friction powered type carrier.

Referring more particularly to the drawings and for the moment to FIGURES 1 and 2 in which a basic unit of the game employing two players is illustrated, a ball carrier 10 in a substantially erect running position carried upon a mobile carrier 11 is shown being attacked 3,379,441 Patented Apr. 23, I968 by a tackler 12 carried upon a mobile carrier 13. The arms 14 and 15 of the tackler are shown fully extended in FIG- URE 1 and after contact has been made the arms 14- and 15 close about the legs of the tackler as shown in FIGURE 2. The players 10 and 12 are shown on a playing field 16 which may be a separate game board provided with 10 yard markings as at 17 or the markings defining the playing field may be in the form of masking tape, played upon the floor of a recreation roomor the like.

The ball carrier 10 is secured to his mobile carrier 11 by a standard or attaching stem 18 connecting the player 10 to the carrier 11.

The details of the construction of the tackler are best shown in FIGURES 3 through 6 inclusive in which the tackler is shown attached to a mobile carrier 13 by pivots 19 at the knee portions of this legs in such a manner that the leg portions 20 and hip portions 21 of the tackler may be rocked and bent forward about a pivot 22. The torso portion of the tackler is shown in 23 and is provided with a cut-out portion 24 for receiving the head mounting 25 of the tackler. The head mount is pivoted to the torso portion by a pivot 26 to permit rocking of the head unit as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 6. The head is biased to a forward position as shown in FIGURE 6, by a spring 27, one end of which is secured to the torso portion 23 at 28 and the other end of which is secured to the head portion at 29. The head portion is constructed to pivot rearwardly. The head portion is also provided with shoulder portions 25 and 25' having right angle cut outs 25 and 25 which cooperate with complemental cut-outs 14 and 15 of arms 14 and 15 respectively. The head portion 25 has a neck 30 which supports a head and helmet 31. The arms 14 and 15 are mounted to the torso 23 on pivots 32 and 33 about which are carried coil springs 34 and 35, one end of each spring being imbedded in the torso and the other end of each spring being imbedded in the arms 14 and I5 respectively to bias the arms normally to the closed position of FIGURE 5. The arms 14 and 15 are extended and maintained in the solid open line positions or" FIGURES 4 and 5 with cut-outs of arms 14 and 15 abutting the cut-outs 25 and 25 of the shoulder portions and which contact is maintained under the influence of spring 27.

As shown in FIGURES 7 and 8 the spring biasing of the arms 14 and 15 has been modified by placement of a coil spring 36 through the cavity 37 of the head portion of the tackler such that the ends 36 and are secured to the arms 14 and I5 respectively forwardly of the pivots 32 and 33.

In playing the game, when the tackler 12 is directed toward the ball carrier 10 as shown in FIGURE 1, and the head and the helmet 31 of the tackler engages the body portion of the ball carrier 10 the head portion 25 is rocked rearwardly as shown in dotted lines in FIGURE 6, move the shoulder portions 25 and 25 out of contact with the arms which permit the springs 34, 35 to cause closure of the arms about the ball carrier as shown in FIGURE 2 and if the tackler has sufiicient momentum, he will bring the ball carrier down.

Now the mobile carriers for the two players may be identical and will consist of a base member 38 having axles 39 and 4%) journal-led therein which axles have connected thereto wheels 41. In the embodiment shown in FIGURE 9 the carrier is driven by a spring motor 42 driving a pinion secured to shaft 39. The spring motor may be wound by a key 44.

The carrier of FIGURE 10* is substantially identical to that of FIGURE 9 with the exception that an electrical motor 45 drives shaft 39 to impart rotary motion to wheels 41*. The motor 45 receives its power from battery 46 and is under the control of a switch 47.

Referring now to FIGURE 11, the carrier 38 has a battery unit 46 similar to that of FIGURE 10 for driving an electrical motor 45 which drives wheels 41 through shaft 39 The rear wheels 41* are directional and may be turned as shown in dotted lines through a rack 48 and pinion 49, drive to impart direction through a Bowden cable 50 under the influence of a steering wheel 51. The carrier of FIGURE 12 is the basically simple friction type wherein the wheels 41 receive their driving energy from a flywheel 52 which imparts its energy to the wheels through a chain of cogs and pinions in a conventional well-known manner.

In play, once the field has been staked out by the placement of field defining lines 17 in the form of the embodiments illustrated, the ball carrier is then either wound up as is the carrier in the form of FIGURE 9 or the switch 47 is closed as the carrier is in the form of FIGURE 10 and the player is released to make his run down the field toward the goal line.

The tack-ler has his arms cocked to the open solid line position of FIGURE 5 and FIGURE 1 and the carrier unit is energized to direct him. The player of the game using the tackler then aims him for interception with the ball carrier. When the head 31 of the tackler encounters the body of the ball carrier 10, the head portion pivots about the pivot 26 t0 the position shown in chain lines in FIGURE 6 thereby releasing the arms from the extended position and under the influence of either the coil springs 34, or the spring 36, the arms are directed about the leg portion of the ball carrier as shown in FIGURE 2 and dependent upon the speed of the tackler and the speed of the ball carrier, the tackler may bring the ball carrier down.

Many forms of propulsion means for propelling the carriers 11 and 13 may be employed. The carriers 11 and 13 may be either free as shown in FIGURES 9, l0 and 12 or captive and directional as shown in FIGURE 11.

Although we have disclosed herein the best form of the invention known to us at this time, we reserve the right to all such modifications and changes as may come within the scope of the following claims.

What we claim is:

1. In combination a pair of football players one of which is a substantially erect ball carrier and the other of which is a crouched tackler, mobile means supporting and moving the ball carrier over a game area, mobile means supporting and moving the tackler over the game area with his arms extended, and means associated with the head of the tackler and arms of the tackler so that upon the head of the tackler contacting the ball carrier, the

arms of the tackler will close about the ball carrier and bring the ball carrier down.

2. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over the game area is a wheel driven base powered by a battery driven motor.

3. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base powered by a spring motor.

4. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base powered by a fly wheel type friction driven motor.

5. A pair of football players as claimed in claim 1 wherein the mobile means for supporting and moving each player over a game area is a wheel driven base having a pair of remote controlled steering wheels and being powered by a battery driven motor.

6. A football tackler as claimed in claim 1 wherein the arms of the tackler have undercut portions engageable with undercut portions in the head of the tackler which read is biased to a forward portion, said arms being spring biased to a normally closed position but being retained in an open position by engagement of the undercut portions of the arms with the undercut portions of the head, the arms being trig ered to a closed position upon rocking of the head portion to disengage the arms from engagement with the head to permit the spring bias to take over and close the arms.

'7. A tackler as claimed in claim 6 wherein the arms are provided with pivots about which are carried coil springs one end of each of which is imbeddcd in the torso portion of the tackler and the other end of each of which is imbedded in each respective arm.

8. A tackler as claimed in claim 6 wherein the head portion has a cavity through which a spring passes, each end of the spring being secured to an arm forward of the pivot point of the arm.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,905,303 4/1933 Potter 273-94 2,616,696 11/1952 Field 27394 2,775,848 1/1957 Isaacson 46106 3,132,864 5/1964 Glass et a1. 4699 RICHARD C. PINKHAM, Primary Examiner.

P. E. SHAPIRO, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION A PAIR OF FOOTBALL PLAYERS ONE OF WHICH IS A SUBSTANTIALLY ERECT BALL CARRIER AND THE OTHER OF WHICH IS A CROUCHED TACKLER, MOBILE MEANS SUPPORTING AND MOVING THE BALL CARRIER OVER A GAME AREA, MOBILE MEANS SUPPORTING AND MOVING THE TACKLER OVER THE GAME AREA WITH HIS ARMS EXTENDED, AND MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HEAD OF THE TACKLER AND ARMS OF THE TACKLER SO THAT UPON THE HEAD OF THE TACKLER CONTACTING THE BALL CARRIER, THE ARMS OF THE TACKLER WILL CLOSE ABOUT THE BALL CARRIER AND BRING THE BALL CARRIER DOWN. 